17 phenomenal 'Game of Thrones' scenes that weren't in the books

Television and movie adaptations of popular books are often heavily scrutinized for changes made to the original source material. So when showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss took on the task of adapting George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series — which totals nearly 5,000 pages — they had their work cut out for them.

Certain changes have resulted in major backlash from critics, but other additions to our favorite storylines have resulted in an added level of depth and entertainment.

Scroll down for a look at the best scenes in the series that weren't in the books.

1/

Arya serving as Tywin's cupbearer at Harrenhal.

Season 2, Episode 7: "A Man Without Honor."
HBO

In season two, Arya is captured and brought to Harrenhal. While this happened in the books, the lord she winds up serving is Roose Bolton, not Tywin Lannister. Book readers were pleasantly surprised to watch the budding relationship between Tywin and Arya instead. In episode seven, one scene in particular served to both humanize Tywin and reveal Arya's sharp intelligence and survival instincts.

Tywin cleverly instructs Arya to eat his hot meal — a gentle gesture that can be interpreted as him actually having her test his food for poison. Arya, who is posing as a lowborn, asks Tywin questions about war and in turn he tells her stories about old rulers. Tywin seems to know Arya isn't who she says, but is strangely affectionate toward her instead of suspicious. Instead of punishing her for lying, Tywin appears to be both impressed and amused by the young girl.

2/

Catelyn Stark telling Talisa a story about Jon getting sick when he was a boy.

Season 3, Episode 2: "Dark Wings, Dark Words."
HBO

In season three, after Catelyn learns that Winterfell was attacked and her sons Bran and Rickon are missing, she tells Robb's wife Talisa a story that was never included in the books. Catelyn explains how much she hated Jon as a baby, and how she prayed to the gods for him to die. Then, Jon fell ill and actually almost died. Catelyn — filled with remorse — made an internal promise to the gods. She swore she would love Jon and ask Ned to make him a true Stark if he lived.

But when he got better, she went right back to hating him, and broke her promises. And now, years later, Catelyn blames herself for all the misfortune fallen upon her family. "I couldn't keep my promise," she says. "Everything that's happened since then, all this horror that's come to my family, it's all because I couldn't love a motherless child." This scene was both moving and character building, as Catelyn's complex relationship with her family is brought to the forefront.

3/

That time Podrick is a revealed to be a sex god.

Season 3, Episode 3: "Walk of Punishment"
HBO

Not every added scene is completely depressing or serious, though. The showrunners opted to include a small but highly amusing side story about Podrick in season three. Tyrion takes Podrick to a brothel and gives him a bag of gold to spend as a way of thanking him for saving his life. But when Podrick returns, he gives the gold back to Tyrion, explaining that the prostitutes refused the money.

Bronn and Tyrion eventually come to understand that Podrick was apparently so skilled in bed that the women refused to accept payment. Podrick, a meek and sometimes clumsy boy, being a secretly talented sex god proved to be a hilarious and endearing addition to the series.

4/

Ygritte confronting Jon Snow and shooting him three times with her bow and arrow.

Season 3, Episode 10: "Mhysa"
HBO

Jon and Ygritte's short and sweet love affair remains one of the best couplings in the series so far. In the books, Jon simply hops onto a horse and rides away when a fight breaks out between him and wildlings. Hours later, he realizes there's an arrow piercing his leg — likely Ygritte's doing but we never know for sure. The showrunners opted instead to write an emotional confrontation between Jon and Ygritte. Both characters tear up, and Jon confesses his love for Ygritte before trying to walk away.

"I know you won't hurt me," Jon says. Ygritte replies with her iconic line: "You know nothing Jon Snow." Jon smiles back at her. "I do know some things. I know I love you ... I know you love me. But I have to go home now."

Then Ygritte shoots Jon in the leg, back, and side, wounding him but allowing him to escape. Ygritte is one of the best marksmen in the show — if she truly wanted Jon dead, he'd be a goner. This scene served as a touching reminder that their relationship was real.

5/

Ramsay staging an elaborate fake rescue of Theon.

Season 3, Episode 3: "Walk of Punishment"
HBO

This is a dark one. In season three, show watchers had no idea who Ramsay's character was, or why Theon was being held captive and tortured. But book readers were aware, and surprised, to see Theon's descent into Reek happening on screen much sooner than they expected. The Ramsay/Theon "relationship" isn't revealed until the fifth book, so fans were intrigued to see the scenes so early on in the series.

In this particular scene, Ramsay had given Theon a horse and told him to ride away. Then a group of men pursue Theon into the forest, and nearly capture him. But Ramsay appears, slaying all of Theon's would-be attackers with a bow and arrow. The last living man looks at Ramsay with disgust, and says: "You little bastard." Ramsay fires an arrow into his head, killing him.

Show watchers probably bought into Ramsay's false appearance of being Theon's savior, but this scene was amazing for book readers. The man's reference to Ramsay as a bastard was a nod to fans who knew Ramsay was the bastard son of Roose Bolton. In addition,book readers knew Ramsay had just killed five of his own men for the sake of lulling Theon into a false sense of security.

6/

Arya and The Hound going on a murder-spree at an inn.

Season 4, Episode 1: "Two Swords"
HBO

Arya and The Hound's complex relationship in seasons three and four is one of the best character arcs in the series. By the opening episode of season four, the two have a quasi-friendship established. When Arya spots Polliver (the Lannister soldier who killed her friend Lommy and stole her sword Needle) she insists on going after him. The Hound reluctantly follows, and the two wind up fighting and killing five Lannister men together.

Not only does this scene feature some of The Hound's greatest dialogue — "If any more words come pouring out your c--t mouth, I'm going to have to eat every f---ing chicken in this room." — but it works well to establish Arya's path towards becoming a ruthless killer. In the books, she murders a man in a similar scenario, but the showrunners opted to tweak the setting and dialogue. The scene concludes with Arya and The Hound riding off into the sunset on their own new horses, eating chicken. Does it get more "Game of Thrones" than that?

7/

A White Walker taking a baby to a mysterious location.

Season 4, Episode 4: "Oathkeepers"
HBO

When it comes to the White Walkers, book readers know basically nothing about their origins and intentions. So when the show introduced this scene out of nowhere in season four, fans were shocked. At the very end of the episode, you watch as one of Craster's babies is taken by a White Walker to a mysterious mountain structure.

The White Walker places the human baby on an alter of sorts, and then a different type of creature comes forward and touches a creepy finger to the child's cheek, and the baby's eyes turn bright blue — presumably turning it into a White Walker.

Now we know that this is the Night King, but when the scene first happened fans were freaking out. The Night King is only a mythical figure so far in the books, the introduction of him in the show was a huge moment.

8/

Tyrion and Daenerys meeting for the first time.

Season 5, Episode 8: "Hardhome"
Helen Sloan/HBO

In the books published so far, Tyrion gets as far as Meereen but has so far been unable to actually see Daenerys. This scene played out in a very satisfying way with Tyrion maintaining his witty banter and Daenerys holding her own while facing someone she assumes is an enemy.

At a time when Daenerys is beginning to lose control in Meereen, Tyrion's appearance is a breath of fresh air. He tells her about his experience running King's Landing, and the two joke about their less-than-ideal fathers. Daenerys eventually agrees to let him advise her, assuming he cuts back on the wine. This scene serves as a great reminder of how far Daenerys has come since season one, and how Tyrion's analytical mind is his greatest asset.

9/

The Night King attacking Jon and the wildlings at Hardhome.

Season 5, Episode 8: "Hardhome"
HBO

"Hardhome" was an incredible episode no one saw coming. Typically, the ninth episode of each season is when major game-changing scenes take place, so everyone was shocked when the eighth episode was dedicated to a 20-minute long battle. In the books, Jon receives a mysterious letter from a Night's Watch brother at Hardhome. The message is cryptic, and refers to "dead things in the water." The showrunners decided to run with this, and turn it into an enormous season five action sequence.

During the Hardhome massacre, fans watched as Jon successfully battled against a White Walker, eventually killing him with his Valyrian steel sword. The choreographed action, stunning CGI work, and elaborate costuming all comes together in this epic moment. The scene concludes with Jon escaping in a boat, watching as the mysterious Night King character resurrects all the freshly-dead wildlings and turns them into wights. Fans were left stunned.

10/

Stannis and Shireen sharing a touching father-daughter moment.

Season 5, Episode 4: "Sons of the Harpy"
HBO

In this scene, we see Stannis tell Shireen the story of how she came to have greyscale. A trader brought goods to the castle to sell, and among them was a small wooden doll that was infected with the disease.

You can hear the bitterness in his voice, the regret of ever handing that small doll to his daughter. Shireen listens with rapt attention, smiling gently at hearing how her father defended her. "I called in every maester on this side of the world ... They stopped the disease and saved your life. You were the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And you are my daughter."

Shireen, her eyes brimming with tears, hugs him fiercely. After hesitating, he hugs her back. The moment this scene aired, we knew it was trouble. The conversation was touching, and brought a new dimension of compassion to Stannis' character. Why add it in? Because just a few episodes later, Stannis allows Melisandre to burn Shireen alive. The showrunners needed this moment to show fans just how heartbreaking that decision would be for Stannis.

11/

Euron's arrival to Westeros and the murder of Balon Greyjoy.

Season six began moving past the contents of Martin's books, but some of the scenes were still based on already written events. In the books, we simply hear that Balon Greyjoy fell from a bridge during a storm. Though many suspect Euron was behind the death, there's no concrete proof.

Euron's introduction in the show went all out when it came to Balon's murder — a choice we love and still get hyped about. Euron appears on a bridge before his brother, and has some pretty badass lines. "I am the Drowned God," Euron says. "From Oldtown to Qarth, when men see my sails, they pray."

Then Euron throws Balon from the bridge, down to his death. Euron's character fell a little flat in subsequent scenes, but we still think his introduction was perfection.

12/

The Tower of Joy fight scene was an incredible extension of the book's scene.

Season 6, Episode 3: "Oathbreaker"
HBO

In "A Game of Thrones," the first book in Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, Ned Stark has a dream/flashback to a scene fans came to know as the Tower of Joy. In the book, the memory doesn't explain the full detail of the fight — only that Ned and Howland Reed were the two survivors.

But in season six, Bran's advancing powers took him back in time and into the midst of the confrontation. The stunning fight choreography (Arthur Dayne with TWO swords!) combined with the excitement of seeing this moment fully fleshed out cemented it in the "Game of Thrones" hall of fame.

13/

Bran's wonky time traveling vision of young Wylas interspersed with Hodor's death.

Season 6, Episode 5: "The Door"
HBO

There's a chance that this scene will play out in the future published books, but for now Hodor's death and the explanation of how he got his name is a show-only moment. In this heartbreaking scene, we watch as Bran uses his greensight to flashback to Winterfell where he sees a young Hodor (whose name is really Wylas). But while in the midst of his vision, the Night King attacks their cave and kills Bloodraven, Summer, and the Children of the Forest.

Through a weird glitch, Bran wound up warging into Hodor in both the past and the present. As Meera yells at Hodor to "hold the door" so she and Bran can escape, the young Wylas effectively experiences his own death years before it happens, driving him insane and causing him to only say the word "Hodor" from that moment on.

This tense sequence was terrifying and heart wrenching and absolutely one of the best scenes in all of season six.

14/

Daenerys breaking the siege of Meereen with Drogon.

Season 6, Episode 9: "Battle of the Bastards"
HBO

The last published book, "A Dance With Dragons," ends with Meereen under siege and Daenerys out in the middle of nowhere with Drogon. This is why book readers were thrilled to see Daenerys' triumphant return to Meereen in the show coincide with the major siege. Watching her mount Drogon and seeing Viserion and Rhaegal bursting from their prison to join her in the sky was a huge moment.

Plus it featured Tyrion, Grey Worm, and Missandei teaching her enemies a brutal lesson when Grey Worm cut the throats of two men in one fell swoop. Overall this was definitely one of Daenerys' highlights of the season.

15/

Jon facing off against the Bolton cavalry in the Battle of the Bastards.

Season 6, Episode 9: "Battle of the Bastards"
HBO

Words fail us when it comes to explaining just how stunning the Battle of the Bastards was. Once again, the last published book comes just short of showing a major battle at Winterfell between the Boltons and Stannis (who is still alive in the books). And last book readers saw, Jon was stabbed and left for dead.

Seeing Jon alive and in action throughout season six was incredible, but the slow-motion moment of him squaring off against a stampeding cavalry was breathtaking. The ensuing clash and battle was one of the most tense and realistic depictions of war we've seen on the show.

16/

Cersei blowing up the Sept of Baelor with wildfire.

Season 6, Episode 10: "The Winds of Winter"
HBO

Though book readers have theorized about Cersei's plot with wildfire, so far the books haven't gotten as far as her trial. The entire opening sequence of the season six finale was devastatingly beautiful thanks to Ramin Djawadi's piano score "The Light of the Seven." The building tension as both the characters and audience realize what Cersei has done is masterful.

We watched as Margaery attempt to protect her brother Loras while the High Sparrow remains arrogantly confident in his plan. "Game of Thrones" is famous for killing off characters, but this might have been the biggest axing of major characters in the show's history, and for that it remains iconic.

17/

When Davos confronts Melisandre about the murder of Shireen.

Season 6, Episode 10: "The Winds of Winter"
HBO

The finale of season six was incredible start to finish, but the most powerfully emotional scene came when Davos confronted Melisandre about burning Shireen at the stake. Actor Liam Cunningham has done an expert job of bringing Davos to life, but this moment was on a completely different plane of emotion.

As Davos yells in agony at Melisandre, demanding an explanation for the death of an innocent girl he loved, we can't help but tear up right along with him.

Though "Game of Thrones" often stuns fans with spectacle and battles and wildfire, this is an example of the show's excellent character development and the cast's incredible acting chops.